restaurant week diary: mia dona

Had a romantic dinner date with my lovey last night at Mia Dona, which is just a short walk from the apartment. Can't believe we never thought to go there before! We had an amazing time. The catalyst was finding out the Mia Dona had extended their Restaurant Week menu until the end of February. I must say, that $35 3-course meal packs some serious ammo. We had so much food that we had to doggy bag our calamari app and both our entrees. It's always nice to feel like you've gotten more than you bargained for. Moreover, I was really delighted to see that the items on the RW menu were all part of the regular menu.

We were offered a bread basket with a piece of delicious roasted garlic that made me inhale 2 pieces of foccacia before we even started. I wouldn't call it a big mistake though because I truly enjoyed eating the super tender cloves of garlic, which had a sweet taste from being roasted. When our salad and calamari appetizer came, we were overwhelmed with the large (by New York standards) portions. We managed to finish the salad, which was a fresh mix of baby arugula, frisee, fennel and pecorino slivers drizzled with a light red wine vinaigrette. The mound of fried calamari served with garlic aioli and marinara dipping sauces were too much for us, and we decided to doggie bag it and save it for another night of movies and beer.

For his entree, Mika picked a grilled hangar steak coated with herb ricotta and pepperoncini, and served with brocolli rabe. The waitress failed to ask how he wanted his steak done, but thankfully it came medium rare (as it should!). We savored the velvety herb ricotta spread over the steak, but agreed the brocolli rabe was best set aside because it was a tad too bitter.

My crispy chicken was absolute perfection. The skin was addictively crispy, and the meat so buttery, tender and full of flavor. Each bite was pure heaven. The roasted potatoes, baby brocolli sprouts and capers flavored with lemon were the perfect accompaniment. For my Filipino readers in NY, I'd say that this chicken is an haute version of Max's fried chicken. Sarap!

For dessert, we ordered some gelato and this plate of amazingness, otherwise known as zeppole. The zeppole is typically Italian, and is a light and fluffy, deep fried pastry coated in brown sugar. I suppose it's similar to a beignet. Dipped into a smooth dark chocolate sauce, it is absolute bliss.

We ordered a bottle of the 2004 "Centenary Hill" Jacob's Creek Shiraz and thoroughly enjoyed every sip. Full bodied, earthy and combining flavors of ripe berries and black pepper, it was totally my kind of wine.

I was also very pleased with our waitress, who was so gracious, never impatient despite our long dawling towards the end of the meal, and had a great sense of humor. I am totally in love with this restaurant now and fully intend to keep coming back.

Where: 206 E. 58th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Tel. (212) 750-8170